Rick Carlisle on LeBron James, Luka Doncic partnership: I don't see any world in which it doesn't work great

Mike Trudell: LeBron called Austin Reaves last night, letting him know he’d be out today, as JJ Redick relayed. Redick then told Reaves pregame that he’d probably need something like 38-8-8 for LA to win. Reaves responded with 45-7-7, plus 3 steals. -via Twitter @LakersReporter / February 8, 2025

Dave McMenamin: JJ Redick says Mark Williams is still questionable for today because the trade is still pending. When asked if LAL would have all of their guys Monday – Luka, LeBron, Williams, etc. – Redick said: “I don’t know why we wouldn’t” -via Twitter @mcten / February 8, 2025

Mike Trudell: LeBron has been downgraded to out for today’s game against Indiana. -via Twitter @LakersReporter / February 8, 2025

Ball Don’t Lie: “It was weird.” Jason Kidd on playing without Luka 🥲 pic.x.com/hbczvJHwHU -via Twitter @Balldontlie / February 8, 2025

Noah Weber: Jason Kidd doubled down on not knowing about the Luka Doncic trade until right before it went down, and was asked if he was fine with not knowing until the end: “Ya, I’m an employee of the Mavs.” When asked if he wants any say on how the roster is constructed: I think I’ve said this before, I’m the coach. I coach the players that are here. We made a trade, and we got to push forward.” When asked if he’s one of the coaches that “wants to buy some of the groceries”: “No, I’m the one who gets the groceries, and I’ve got to figure out how to use it, and so that’s what we’re doing…I don’t wanna be the one that’s buying the groceries, just give me the groceries and I’ll figure it out.” -via x.com / February 8, 2025

After the opening comment about his rough week, Cuban told Gates he loved Source Code, but he had a question for the billionaire entrepreneur. “If after you left Microsoft, you found out that Steve Ballmer traded Windows 11 — like, the new hot operating system — for Windows 10, the Hall-of-Fame but older operating system, what would you do?” -via Dallas Morning News / February 8, 2025

Andy Larsen: Former Mavs coach Rick Carlisle on the Luka Doncic trade: Look, it’s a historic event. You’re talking about the two principal players are two of the highest impact players, really, in the history of the game. I can speak to Luka because I worked with him for three years. He’s the most unique player I’ve ever seen, and his impact is so massive. Because not only does he have the personality and all the skill and the size and everything, he’s impossible to game plan for because he just decides how the game is going to be played, and he makes it his style of game. He’s a very, very unique player. And when we had the seven game series in ’21 against the Clippers, at that time, he was breaking rookie records every year for playoff production. His production numbers are just are staggering. There’s so much talk about out there, about everything – you’ve got to talk about how great Davis is too. He’s a different kind of dominant. He’s a guy you go out there and, how do you get near the rim, and how do you guard him? I think he can play three positions. I think he can play four or five, and I think he can play three. I think he’s that great. So, monumental event. And my hope is that both teams do well with it. Time will tell. -via x.com / February 3, 2025

NBA Communications: Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka and Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle have been named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in January. -via x.com / February 3, 2025

Dustin Dopirak: Rick Carlisle: “Victor Wembanyama is such a unique challenge. To have a two-game set like this is such a revealing situation.” -via Twitter @DustinDopirak / January 25, 2025